This invention relates to a method for tuning a string on a fretted instrument to a predetermined standard by introducing a known pitch at a given point or points along the string.
The number of players of fretted instruments was, until recent years, rather small, and these players tended to tune their instruments to accommodate their particular singing voices, rather than to commonly accepted standards of pitch employed by other musicians, such as in an orchestra. However, in recent years the number of people playing, or attempting to play, fretted instruments has risen dramatically (in particular, on such instruments as the guitar and banjo) and these instruments have come out of the "folk" realm, and into the realm of serious musical study wherein the player of fretted instruments finds it necessary to tune to commonly accepted standards of pitch as they often times find themselves playing with ensembles of other musicians wherein it is necessary that all members of the ensemble tune to a common standard of pitch. Further, the development of fretted instruments by manufacturers who have found their markets rapidly expanding, has been such that each fretted instrument is designed to produce optimum tonality when the instrument is tuned to commonly accepted standards of pitch predetermined for the instrument.
In short, there are millions of players of fretted instruments today seriously undertaking the study of music on instruments scientifically designed to perform at their optimum tonality when they are tuned to commonly accepted standards of pitch. Thus the evident need for a simple and accurate method of tuning fretted instruments which is easily accomplished by the many people who now play these instruments, since these players are the ultimate tuners of their instruments.
There are several methods and/or devices currently in use to accomplish the task of tuning fretted instruments. All of these have certain disadvantages. All but one of the following methods and/or devices fall into the category of relative tuning methods. That is, they require the tuner to make a comparison and determine by use of the ear when the pitches of two notes are identical. Common practice has shown this approach to be highly inaccurate for these reasons:
1. There is no guarantee that the tuner can accurately determine by use of the ear when the pitches of two notes are identical. Indeed, the overwhelming majority of tuners cannot.
2. Even if the tuner can accurately determine when the pitches of two notes are identical, there is no guarantee with these methods and/or devices that the pitch of the note being used as a standard to tune to is entirely accurate. Therefore, even if this serious limitation (No. 1, above) is overcome, it is still very conceivable that the tuner will tune inaccurately.
3. Very few people are blessed with what is known as "perfect pitch", the ability to determine accurately by use of the ear the pitch of a given note or notes. However, even this ability fluctuates greatly with atmospheric conditions and the physical health of the tuner (such as a common cold, allergic reaction, etc.), leaving this person with all too frequent periods when tuning accurately is not possible.
One method uses the piano as a device for tuning fretted instruments. The desired pitch of the open string(s) (an "open" string on a fretted instrument is that length of string which is said to have a speaking voice equal to the distance between the nut and bridge of the instrument) of the fretted instrument is determined via commonly accepted standards, and the corresponding key(s) (that key which, when sounded, will produce this predetermined pitch) of the piano keyboard is selected. The tuner then strikes the designated key(s) of the piano to sound the pitch of the note to be tuned to, then sounds the open string(s) of the fretted instrument, discerning by use of the ear any discrepancy between the pitches of the two notes thus sounded. By means of the tuning keys of the fretted instrument, the tuner then proceeds to adjust the tension of the open string of the fretted instrument until, by use of the ear, the tuner is satisfied that the pitches of the two notes are identical.
An advantage of this method is that the piano, because its strings are not touched by the hands, tends to stay in tune to proper pitch for greater lengths of time than do fretted instruments.
One disadvantage of this method is that there is absolutely no guarantee that the tuner can accurately determine by ear when the pitches of the two notes are identical. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the pitch of the note sounded on the piano (the pitch being used as a standard to tune to) is accurate, as it is commonly known that pianos need periodic retuning to keep them at proper pitch.
Most notable, of course, is the fact that a piano, not being portable, is not always present when the tuner of fretted instruments needs to tune.
Another method available to tune fretted instruments is by use of a pitch pipe. The tuner sounds the pitch pipe by blowing upon that reed of the pitch pipe which is designated for the open string on the fretted instrument which he wishes to tune. Then he sounds the open string of the fretted instrument, discerning by use of the ear any discrepancy between the pitches of the two notes thus sounded. By means of the tuning keys of the fretted instrument, the tuner then proceeds to adjust the tension of the open string of the fretted instrument until, by use of the ear, the tuner is satisfied that the pitches of the two notes are identical.
While the pitch pipe is a small device which is portable and tends to hold very well the pitch to which it was originally tuned, it has limitations. Here again there is absolutely no guarantee that the tuner can accurately determine by ear when the pitches of the two notes are identical. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the pitch of the note sounded on the pitch pipe is accurate, as blowing too hard or too softly into the pitch pipe will distort its pitch.
Fretted insstruments are also tuned by using other fretted instruments. The tuner uses one fretted instrument as a standard and tunes another fretted instrument to it by sounding the open pitch of one of the strings of the instrument being used as a standard (or some fretted note along one of the strings known to be identical to the pitch of the open string he is tuning) then sounding the open string of the instrument to be tuned, again determining by ear any discrepancy between the pitches of the two notes thus sounded. The tuner then proceeds to adjust the tension of the open string of this instrument until, by use of the ear, the tuner is satisfied that the pitches of the two notes are identical. Here again, there is no guarantee that the tuner can accurately determine by ear when the pitches of the two notes are identical. Also, there is no guarantee that the pitch of the note sounded on the instrument being used as a standard is accurate, as it was most likely tuned by one or more of the methods being described, and fretted instruments are notorious for going out of tune. Furthermore, the tuner does not always have access to an extra fretted instrument to use as a standard.
Another method uses a tuning fork as a standard. This method, however, does not utilize the principles of the invention herein. In this method the tuner selects a tuning fork known to be the same pitch as standard for one of the open strings of his instrument or some note fretted along one of the strings and strikes it or otherwise excites it to motion. It is then placed on some solid surface, which serves to amplify the pitch of the tuning fork. The tuner then strikes the open (or fretted) string of the instrument to be tuned, discerning by use of the ear any discrepancy between the pitches of the two notes thus sounded. By means of the tuning key of the fretted instrument, the tuner then proceeds to adjust the tension of the open (or fretted) string of the fretted instrument until, by use of the ear, the tuner is satisfied that the pitches of the two notes are identical.
In this method there is absolutely no guarantee that the tuner can accurately determine by ear when the pitches of the two notes are identical. Furthermore, this procedure allows for the tuning of one string of the fretted instrument only, and the tuner must then proceed to use other methods to complete the tuning of the instrument. For example, the tuner may proceed to match pitches of fretted notes with pitches of open strings. The tuner, by means of some device such as those mentioned thus far, or by his own random determination, considers one string of the instrument to be tuned to be accurate. This string is then fretted at a point along it which gives rise to the pitch of another string on the instrument (and usually adjacent to it). The fretted string is sounded, then the open string which is to be tuned is sounded, and the tuner determines by ear any discrepancy between the pitches of the two notes thus sounded. The tuner then proceeds to adjust the tension of the open string of the instrument until, by use of the ear, the tuner is satisfied that the pitches of the two notes are identical. The tuner then repeats this process, using the string just tuned to tune another open string. The process is thus repeated as many times as necessary to tune all the strings of the instrument.
Here again, there is no guarantee that the tuner can accurately determine by ear when the pitches of the two notes are identical. In addition, there is no guarantee that the string being used as a standard to begin this process is accurately tuned to pitch. Furthermore, since the note being sounded as a standard (the fretted note to which the open string is tuned) is a fretted note, it will not sustain because the tuner has to release it, causing it to fall silent, in order to adjust the tension of the string being tuned via the tuning key of the instrument. The tuner may also match pitches of harmonic notes on one string to harmonic notes on another string. The tuner, by means of some device such as those mentioned thus far, or by his own random determination, considers one string of the instrument to be accurately tuned to proper pitch. This string is then sounded harmonically at a point along it which gives rise to a pitch which is readily sounded harmonically on another (and usually adjacent) string. Then the string to be tuned is sounded harmonically at a point which should coincide with the pitch of the harmonic of the string being used as a standard, and the tuner determines by ear any discrepancy between the pitches of the two notes thus sounded. By means of the tuning key of the string being tuned, the tuner then proceeds to adjust the tension of this string until, by use of the ear, the tuner is satisfied that the pitches of the two notes are identical. This process is then repeated at other harmonic points on other strings, until the instrument is considered to be in tune.
Here again, there is no guarantee that the tuner can distinguish accurately by ear when the pitches of the two notes are identical, or that the string being used as a standard to begin this process is accurately tuned to pitch. In addition, certain strings on fretted instruments do not have easily attainable harmonics which can be played on other strings, thus leaving the inevitability that one or more strings on the fretted instrument being tuned will have to be tuned with some other process. Also, the concept of playing harmonically is beyond the grasp of the average beginning player of fretted instruments, leaving this method not usable until they have attained a particular facility with their instrument and understanding of its fingerboard notes and their overtones.
Another method makes use of a device known as an Accu-Tuner device which the tuner plugs into an amplifier. It produces one of two pitches, E 329.6 Hz, or A 440 Hz, in a steady, uninterrupted sequence. The tuner then selects an open string (or a fret location along a string) which coincides with the frequency being given off by the device (or a similar frequency one or two octaves higher or lower) and sounds it. Then the tuner determines by ear any discrepancy in the pitches of the two notes thus sounded. By means of the tuning key of the string being tuned, the tuner then proceeds to adjust the tension of this string until, by use of the ear, the tuner is satisfied that the pitches of the two notes are identical. Tuning the rest of the strings of the instrument is then accomplished by one or more of the aforementioned methods.
While this device gives off an accurate, uninterrupted tone by which the tuner may establish a standard, its use also has certain limitations. Again, there is no guarantee that the tuner can accurately determine by ear when the pitches of the two notes are identical. As mentioned, the device is not self sufficient in that it provides a means whereby only one string may be tuned if the tuner can accurately distinguish pitches by ear. In order to complete the tuning, the tuner must work within the limitations of one of the aforementioned methods. If the tuner does not have ready access to an amplifier or to an electrical power source, the device is not usable.
Sometimes recordings are used as a standard, but these also present obvious disadvantages not the least of which is lack of access to a record player when needed.
Thus, it is seen that the above-described methods of tuning all have deficiencies. Accordingly it becomes desirable to simplify the method of tuning a fretted string instrument while at the same time providing accuracy in tuning strings to the desired pitch.